Going to Asia this summer? Please, do not make the mistake of buying these heartbreaking key rings.
These plastic pouches first appeared in China in 2011, and contain something truly horrifying: live animals. That means little fish, turtles, salamanders and other amphibians.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9SwPetS-lc[/embed]
The poor animals are held prisoner in coloured water, drugged up with oxygen and other nutrients which barely keep them alive for even a few days.
Sold most notably at metro station exits in Beijing for just $1.50, these key rings have understandably caused uproar amongst animal rights activists.
Source : @Like If You're Against Living Keychains
David Neale, animal welfare director of Animals Asia, told CNN:
Lack of food and diminishing oxygen concentrations within both the water and the small amount of air in these plastic pouches will cause the animals to die in a relatively short period of time after the pouches are sealed.
You can only imagine the stress and psychological suffering of the delicate animals, condemned to a futile struggle to escape their plastic prisons.
Source : @Like If You're Against Living Keychains
The Dodo suggests that in the best-case scenario, some lucky animals might be bought up and freed from their trap by sympathetic buyers who will take care of them. Though unfortunately, they are probably in the minority.
Source : @Like If You're Against Living Keychains
David Neale believes that this kind of inhumane cruelty is made possible by the complete lack of serious punishment for animal cruelty in China:
If a national animal protection law was enacted in China, such acts of cruelty could be prevented, and those who persist in causing harm and suffering to animals within their care could be prosecuted.
Source : @Like If You're Against Living Keychains
A petition demanding for China to ban the sale of these key rings has already reached over a million signatures. To add your name to the petition, click here.
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